Assalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.
Firstly, I would like to say thank you very much for the MC and juries who have given me
opportunity to deliver this English speech.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is a great honor for me to stand here and give a brief speech entitled “Formal Education
in Indonesia”
Brothers and Sisters;
Education system in our country is divided into two major parts, they are formal and
non-formal. A formal education is divided into three levels: primary, secondary and
tertiary education. While non-formal education is carried out for the learners who get
difficulties to meet the requirements in formal education. An example of non-formal
education is PLS (Pendidikan Luar Sekolah). Both formal and non-formal education aim
at establishing the education process in our country.

Ladies and Gentlemen;
As I have stated previously, formal education involves three levels: primary, secondary
and tertiary education. Before entering primary or elementary school, children in our
country usually have attended kindergarten, or known as Taman Kanak-kanak. But this
education is not compulsory for Indonesian citizens, as the aim of this is just to prepare
them for primary school.

Children ages 7–12 attend primary education at Elementary School or Sekolah Dasar.
This level of education is compulsory for all Indonesian citizens. Similar to education
systems in the U.S. and Australia, students must study for six years to complete this level.
Some schools offer an accelerated learning program, where students who perform well
can finish elementary school in five years.
The next level is secondary education. After graduating from elementary school, students
attend Middle School or Junior High School (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) for three years
from the age of 13-15. After three years of schooling and graduation, students may move
on to Senior High School. In Indonesia, this school is basically divided into two kinds:
SMA (Sekolah Menengah Atas) and SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan). SMA is
different with SMK in their studies. The students at SMA are prepared to advance to
tertiary education or university, while students of SMK as a vocational school are
prepared to be ready to work after finishing their school without going to
university/college.
The last level of education in our country is tertiary education. Students who have
graduated from senior high school may attend to university or academy. They can choose
any kinds of university or academy based on their interests or scopes of knowledge, for
example majoring in English, Mathematics, or teacher training university.

Ladies and Gentlemen;
Brothers and Sisters;
I think that’s all my speech. I hope my brief description on the formal education in our
country will be useful for us.
Finally, I would like to say sorry if there are mistakes in my speech words.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Wassalamu’alaikum Wr.Wb.